…Proffers Workable Solutions
By Marcus Ikechukwu
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, lamented what he described as poor trading mechanism among the African continent, saying there was need for a more robust physical integration, breaking barriers to geographic and political fragmentations, including strengthening political cooperation.
The President made the observation when he spoke at the second African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AFSNET) Conference in Abuja, organised by the Afreximbank in collaboration with the secretariat of AfCFTA and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Butressing his position, Buhari said as leaders, we must all be concerned that we are not trading enough amongst ourselves. Stressing that it is a bitter reality that Intra-regional trade still accounts for a very tiny fraction of total trade in Africa.
He cautioned that key players in the continent have to understand that if this new drive towards a continental free trade area is to succeed, we must demonstrate a higher level of commitment to tackle the slow pace of physical integration due to geographic and political fragmentations, especially the pace of political cooperation, and difficult tariff and non- tariff barriers that inhibit business integration.
He said if these factors are well streamlined, the continent will be able to record a much stronger pace of transformation.
He gave the perspective against the backdrop of the the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which Nigeria is a signatory to.
Buhari also indicated that through shared knowledge, innovation and creativity, the continent will be well positioned and better able to cater for the needs of the African continent’s population of over 1.4 billion people.
While speaking directly to shareholders at the Conference, he urged them to use the network and support provided by pan-African institutions as a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and skills.
The Conference, he said, should also seek and advance innovative solutions to support our common quest for the expansion of intra-Africa trade opportunities for our people.
Buhari equally seized the forum to laud the organizers of the conference for demonstrating innovative thinking by taking the AfCFTA to the grassroots, lauding the President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, and his team for committing US$250 million as seed capital towards the establishment of the AFSNET.
While acknowledging that the initiative spearheaded by Afreximbank was aimed at firmly establishing and deepening intra-continental trade investment development frontier for Africa, facilitating the reduction in the continent’s dependence on exports of primary commodities as well as minimizing the risks experienced due to strong reliance on global value chains.
